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Murphy chimes in on selection of one proposal
Murphy: Panel should pick slot favorite Ex-mayor says it has a responsibility :Saturday, October 21, 2006, by Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy believes the Gaming Task Force he set up to assess the impact of slot machine gambling has every right -- and a responsibility -- to say which casino operator it believes is best for the city. During a brief phone interview (on Oct 20, 2006), Mr. Murphy said the Pittsburgh Gaming Task Force he appointed in 2005 was started to be "an honest voice in determining what would be the best choices for Pittsburgh." "If they believe one proposal is superior to another, they have a responsibility to say that and not wimp out because they might offend someone," he said. Mr. Murphy's comments came in response to controversy triggered by the task force's near-endorsement of Isle of Capri in the battle for the city's slot machine casino. In an evaluation released Thursday and sent to the state Gaming Control Board, which will award the license, the task force rated the Isle of Capri proposal as the "strongest" over competitors Forest City Enterprises and PITG Gaming LLC. The decision triggered the resignations of three task force members, those representing the Heinz Endowments, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, because they did not believe the group's mission was to select one bidder over another. The Heinz Endowments also said there would be no further funding for the task force beyond the $95,000 it has provided. Mr. Murphy appointed 23 people -- the task force is now down to 16 -- in March 2005 to study the impact of the proposed slots casino, interview potential operators and be the "voice of Pittsburgh" before the state Gaming Control Board. Told that the three groups had resigned over the decision to select a favorite at this point, the former mayor pointed to that as one of the problems with Pittsburgh. "Everybody's a wimp," he said. "Nobody wants to make any hard decisions." But those who resigned said they did not believe the original charge to the task force included making a specific endorsement. When the task force moved in that direction, they said they did not feel comfortable continuing. "It's not what we signed up for. We didn't think it would result in something that came out more like a recommendation than information gathering and distribution," said Mike Edwards, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership president and CEO. Mr. Edwards said the Downtown Partnership first got involved because it did not want to see a casino located in the central business district Downtown, not to pick any particular candidate. With so many constituents represented within the organization, it would be "difficult for us to reach a consensus in terms of endorsing one particular project," he added. Maxwell King, president of the Heinz Endowments, said it was not who the task force picked that was a problem, but that it chose to pick anyone. He said the Heinz Endowments' understanding from the start was that the task force's mission "was essentially a design role, was to set standards, design parameters, for how a casino operation would fit into the community." That, he added, was reflected in a call from Mr. Murphy when the mayor was trying to line up funding for the group's work and in a letter the Heinz Endowments received from former city Planning Director Susan Golomb. "From the very beginning, it was not our understanding that this group was going to say this is the right choice or that's the right choice but rather would concern itself with what the right standards and design parameters were," he said. "So when they made that change in direction, to us, it was a significant change and we disagreed with it. We didn't want to be a part of it anymore." In the 2005 letter to the Heinz Endowments seeking funding for the task force, Ms. Golomb said the task force anticipated having "no impact on the 'who' or 'where' " of the casino operation. "However, we hope to be able to guide the design of the building, the site plan, accessory parking and access. We want to be in a position to mitigate any negative impacts, and, in fact, to make suggestions that will enhance the neighborhood and have a beneficial catalytic effect," the letter stated. The Heinz Endowments is one of four foundations involved in a nonprofit partnership with the Regional Industrial Development Corp. of Southwestern Pennsylvania in the proposed redevelopment of the former LTV coke works property in Hazelwood. Mr. King said that partnership, called Almono, has an "informal agreement" with Forest City to redevelop the site. He said there is no formal real estate partnership agreement and the foundations legally have no say in the business decisions. He added the potential Forest City involvement in that project was "irrelevant" to the Heinz Endowments decision to drop out of the task force. "If they picked any one of them, we would have withdrawn," he said. Task force co-chairman Ron Porter acknowledged that the group's mission had "transformed over time." He said the group initially started out not wanting to elevate one proposal over another but that as time went on, it became difficult not to make more definitive statements as more was learned. "As I got more and more involved, it became difficult for me to submit a report to the public that was just simply a recounting of what the vendors had promised," he said. "At some point it seemed to be prudent for us to share with the public how these things should be ranked." He added that both he and co-chairwoman Anne Swager understood the positions of the Heinz Endowments, the Allegheny Conference and the Downtown Partnership and that "everything that happened was civil, respectful." Told of Mr. Murphy's statements, Mr. Porter said, "I don't think the actions of anybody who resigned should be interpreted as wimping out, but I do agree with Tom that we have a responsibility to share with the community what we've been doing over 18 months. To do less would not serve our interests."